US House Subcommittee Approves Lead Ban Amendment

Enhancing CPSC Authority and Discretion Act clears hurdle

A U.S. House subcommittee has approved draft legislation that could exempt youth motorcycles and ATVs from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade has approved the Enhancing CPSC Authority and Discretion Act (ECADA). The ECADA would provide the Consumer Product Safety Commission with the authority to use discretion in enforcing the lead ban on youth off-highway vehicles.

“While CPSIA has many virtues, there are some unintended consequences of the law as well. Our common sense reforms will help to make a good law even better, saving thousands of American jobs in the process and providing our children with the important protections they need,” says Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), subcommittee chair. “This was a careful balancing act, but even the Consumer Product Safety Commission has recognized the problems with CPSIA and requested greater flexibility in implementing the new law.”

The draft legislation would allow the CPSC to grant exceptions to products which require lead or cannot be manufactured without lead, or where the lead components are not likely to be placed in a child’s mouth and ingested. The ECADA also exempts battery terminals from the lead limits.

The ECADA will now move on to the Energy and Commerce Committee.

The Motorcycle Industry Council, which represents the manufacturers and distributors, has stated its support for the ECADA.

“MIC and its members reiterate their strong support for ECADA and urge its quick passage by the Energy and Commerce Committee,” says Paul Vitrano, general counsel for the MIC.

Others, such as Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), say the ECADA does not do enough to address the problem. Rehberg restated the need for H.R. 412, the “Kids Just Want to Ride Act”, to be enacted.

“I appreciate the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade’s continued work to undo the consequences of the overreaching regulations created by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. However, this legislation still does not go far enough in exempting youth-sized motorcycles and ATVs,” says Rehberg, who authored H.R. 412.

“H.R. 412, the Kids Just Want to Ride Act, provides the necessary exemption for these vehicles and is the most common-sense approach to this issue,” he continued. “Montanans and folks across the country who enjoy these products are waiting for Congress to show leadership and exempt these products once and for all.”